KIVA When you sign up to be a lender at Kiva, your money does not go directly to the entrepreneurs whose requests appear on the Web site. Instead, a microfinance institution administers the actual loan.

Often, these Kiva partners engage in what a Kiva founder, Matt Flannery, refers to as “pre-disbursals.” In plain English, that means that borrowers get their loans before their appeals appear on Kiva’s…

Wearing my favorite T-shirt in front of the factory (in the country you need to guess) that I write about in Part I of my book “Where Am I Wearing?” My wife hates my hair this long. Apparently so did the security guards at the factory.

Next Wednesday I’ll post the final video clue in which I’ll talk about my factory visit.

(Warning sponsor and self-pimpage!) Hey and if you’re looking for something to spend all those bookstore gift cards on you could do worse than a host of Frommer’s guides and of course a copy or 10 of Where Am I Wearing?

Earlier this year I got an email from Paul Midler. His book Poorly Made in Chinawas about to be released by Wiley (my publisher). He’s a first-time author as well and we’ve become quick friends talking about first-time author experiences — things like how to best fight off mad hoards of groupies. (If you must know, I prefer to let my wife do the bouncing and Paul prefers to play dead.)

And then I read Paul’s book.

Sometimes when people say that a book changed their life, they’re just blowing smoke. In the case of Paul’s book, I mean it.

I was at the grocery charged with buying ingredients to make homemade pizza. I found the…